Hello, first post, couple questions

Hello everyone, I was surprised to find a page like this. Doesn't the gov try and shut things like this down? Well I guess not. I love the internet. anyhow I have a couple of questions. My plant is doing alright, I found a seed in this dank cron, and well... it finally motivated me to do what Ive always wanted to do! and thats supply myself with good medicinal quality cannabis! it is not quite legal in my state for medicinal purposes so I get this shit off the streets (usually shwag, (I live in a one horse town)) and it makes me feel worse sometimes rather than better..... anyhow thats not the point, I have about 3.5 feet of growing space (that is without the light) and I am wondering How soon should I wait to flower. My plant is at about 9 inches rite now. I would hate to put in all this effort that I have done so far to be dissapointed with a male plant! annd my other question is, Is it wise to clone a plant during its flowering stage... I mean I DO NOT want to upset that cycle at all! its just if I find out its a female, I want to continue my cultivation! Thanks everyone and um...

smoke weed everyday! ((HEHE, I had to say it))

flower now for your space. turn your lights back to 12/12. get a clone right before you flower. lets pray its a girl. also, if you want better pot, you need better seeds. you might want to look into a seed-bank for them. I have had great sucess with nirvana seeds. gl on your grow! PEACE

Heyy Budapod, firstly congrats on your plant so far, if its lived long enough to grow 9 inches you've been doin something right so, good stuff! If you search around the forum, like in Newbie Central, there are a few pages to help you sort out your gender confusion. And as for when to flower, thats entirely up to you, but if you've only got one plant, id wait until its about 12-24" tall, though that's just me. If you flower at 2' though it'll prolly outgrow your 3 and a half feet of growing space so maybe flower at about 18", unless you can move to a larger flowering chamber. If you dont mind me askin though, what are you growing under? Also, its definitely not a wise idea to clone while flowering because it puts additional stress upon the young clones. What i suggest is when pruning the lower branches off your plant while its veggin', root the cuttings. They're lower down so they'll root much easier than cuttings from the top of your plant, and to boot, your promoting good airflow from beneath your plant! Oh and by the way, in regards to the gov., im a canadian so were all hip and dandy bout it up here, but i do believe you guys have the 1st amendment isnt it, that is unless bush has veto'd that too. I really feel bad for you guys, though i must admit, the fact that our prime minister wants to be bush's little pet doesnt help. Well i hope i helped a little, happy growin' and best of luck with your plant.
cheers, Sgt. Stoner

Welcome and have fun

WOW! thank you all, you are all very kind! and that info I think is very helpfull... I did not know you could flower so early if necessary. good people! Sgt. stoner asked, what im growing uder, I am using a 70 watt sodium grow light, my space is about half a meter wide and just over a meter tall (for you metric system people out there!) i covered the walls with tinfoil and have a fan blowing on my plant...

here is my little secret... I went to home depot, and bought a pretty big trash can, that is my grow room... it is working wonderfully, and I can't wait to further invest! the temperature is usually pretty constant at about 80 farenheight.. and I mist it frequently and that seems to keep the humidity up...... ohhh and as fert. I use miracle gro, the tomato food kind although I make the potency half of what it suggests. I was missting my plants with the nutrient water but I read that can cause frying because the light burns the nutriends on the leafs, anyone know details about that? anyhow, gosh this site is awesome... ill be glad to post some pictures if anyone is interested... maybe someone can comment better if they saw what i am working with.

peace to all of you and happy cultivating!

and also thanks for your sympathy sgt. stoner. Hopefully they will one day see there ignorance, and reform these stupid laws towards this benneficial plant!

Hey, just me again, ya id love to see some pics of your grow space, thatd be awesome. So you say your growing in a large garbage bin, thats quite ingenius good innovation there, also, did you find anything helpful in regards to sexing your plant? It'd be a shame if it wasnt't a girl oh well, i got my fingers crossed for ya, and if you could get some of those pics thatd be fabulous. Happy growin'
Best regards, Sarge

You will need more light than a 70W hps. At lowes they have full spectrum compact fluroescents. They are a perfect addition to any grow, and cheap might I add. Mix a couple of those bulbs in with your hps. ANd you can keep these lights very close to your plants also since they dont get too hot.

eLLisD has a point, I personally wouldnt use an HPS for veggin', makes the internodes wayyy to long for my space, and its prolly gunna be a little big for your garbage bin too. I use a compact fluorescent like the ones eLLisD menioned. Mines a 95 watt full spectrum, self-ballasted, screws into a mogul socket conversion, though i disagree with his statement about them being cheap. Mine cost me about 100$ with tax, which in comparison to an MH or HPS HID may not be a tonne, but they're still not cheap. And if your growing in your garbage bin there Budapod, you'll only need 1. Im using 1 right now for 8 seedlings ive got in my closet which will be moving into my converted fridge when its done. Anyways ya, another benefit to CFL's is that you can get em' right close to your plants without the worry of burnin em. Well best of luck,
toodles, sgt. stoner

Well, okay. I have posted some pictures in my gallery, I was wondering if anyone new what might be causing the yellowing of those leaf tips. its most obvious on the side view of my plant...

I also am facing the fan towards the plant but the stem still seems a little week (mind you I have never done this before). its getting thicker towards the top of the plant. I wonder if strains have anything to do with that... Thanks for the hopes and prayers. if its not a female I will be devistated... but ill just have to start again. if it is a female I will clone her a lot! (ill clone her anyway before she flowers). I read some of the previous posts. a lot of wise people here! I gained a lot of info towards flowering.

I have been somewhat dissapointed. I thought this light would be more than sufficient, but after seeing some other pictures, and hearing your coments. it may be to weak. but im trying, and it seems to be doing alright.... I will do my best to find some kind of flouresent lights to put on the sides.

THank you again to all.

Heyy, me again, cool grow space, looks good. I couldnt tell in the pics whether or not it was a girl, might still be too young to tell. Its looking healthy though, save for the slight yellowing of the leaf tips. I checked a little bit into it, and according to some of the other threads, it may be due to a nitrogen deficiency. Cant say for sure though, might wanna wait for a few other opinions before you make a sure diagnosis But ya, other than that good job, keep it up
Best wishes as always, Sarge
P.S. By the way, In regards to your light, is that lamp ballasted? Also, if you do get a fluorescent you may consider hunting for a circular style one. They're like fluorescent tube rings, i believe they screw into regular sockets, though i may be wrong, but ya, one of those in use with ur HPS should work well for you.

thanks so much. take it easy for now... ill be sure to keep you all posted... with all the help you are giving me... I feel the least I could do is smoke some of the finished product with you! but alas... not possible.

AWSOME!...the first trash can grow! haha

just make sure someone doesnt accidentally put it out on the curb for the garbage man.